1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector for interconnecting electronic subsystems, and more particularly to an improved connector for orthogonally mounting circuit boards.
2. Description of Related Art
It is common today to design electronic systems having a multitude of subsystems which are electrically interconnected by means of electrical connectors. Often times such subsystems are designed on printed circuit boards. Therefore, it may be necessary to couple thousands of electrical signals between a large number of printed circuit boards within a system. Space limitations are frequently imposed upon the designer of such systems, making the size of the system, subsystem, and the components thereof, a critical factor. Therefore, the external dimensions of a connector suited to such applications should be very small.
One means for interconnecting large numbers of printed circuit boards within a system in which space limitations are imposed is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,660 issued to Claeys, et al., incorporated herein by reference. Claeys discloses a connector for orthogonally mounting circuit boards. The Claeys invention allows a first stack of horizontally-oriented printed circuit boards to be interconnected to a second stack of vertically-oriented printed circuit boards. This arrangement permits signals from any one circuit board to be coupled to any other circuit board over a relatively short signal path. Such arrangements have proved advantageous in a variety of applications, such as large multi-port memory systems in which memory is located on the horizontal boards and ports are provided on the vertical boards, and computing systems in which horizontal boards are used as adders, multipliers, and other "functional" subsystems and vertical boards are used for control memory. Attached to each circuit board in such arrangements, and running along an interfacing edge thereof, is an elongated separator. The separator includes an elongated base running along the interface edge and a plurality of perpendicular spaced-apart legs extending away from the circuit board. Supported along the separator are a plurality of electrical connectors. Each connector is secured to a pair of legs by a retaining cap. The connectors provide the means by which signals are coupled from one printed circuit board to another. Each connector has an electrically insulated body which is cubic in shape. Two generally triangularly-shaped opposing projections extend from one end of the cubic body. A plurality of socket contacts extend longitudinally from the same end of the body, but only about half as far as the triangularly-shaped projections. A plurality of male contacts are located within cylindrical channels in the triangular projections, and have a relative spacing and positioning equal to the relative spacing and positioning of the socket contacts. In the Claeys connector, each triangular projection has 20 contacts. Therefore, a total of 80 contacts (40 male and 40 female) are present in the connector. When one connector is rotated 90.degree. about its longitudinal axis, and 180.degree. about an orthogonal axis with respect to a second connector such that the projections of each connector face the other, the two connectors may be mated. When so mated, the projections of each connector are interleaved. Such connectors are also known as "bowtie" connectors, from the shape of the opposed triangularly-shaped projections.
While prior bowtie connector systems have a number of advantages as the number of electrical signals to be coupled from one printed circuit board to another increases, a need has arisen to increase the number of contacts in standard size bowtie connectors. That is, there is presently a need for an improved connector for orthogonally mounting circuit boards having the same external dimensions as those connectors known in the prior art, yet having more contact positions. The present invention provides such a connector.